Music Industry Keeps Hope For Podcast Growth

Podcasting’s growth took a dip during the pandemic as listeners adopted new routines guided by social distancing. Despite the drop, streaming and other music industry players that have made significant investments in audio entertainment–including podcasters themselves–remain hopeful that the decline is temporary, and that podcasts will continue to be a significant source of business growth. 

“If you look at the whole picture, excluding sports and considering that commutes are on pause, podcasting numbers are not that bad at all,” says Neil Mody, co-founder and CEO of Headliner, a browser-based product used by SiriusXM-Pandora as well as thousands of marketers, podcasters and radio producers around the world to transform audio clips into video and make podcasts more discoverable online. “Creation and consumption are looking good, and I think that this pandemic is a recipe for people to start innovating to monetize the podcast industry beyond ads.”

Podcasting initially bumped for downloads and audiences while people began seeking out new COVID-19 related news during the early stages of the pandemic. Then in March numbers dipped as people began sheltering in place, replacing commute podcast streaming with more breaking news, guided meditation and children’s entertainment at home. 

As people settle more into a “new normal,” podcast listening is climbing again. According to Podtrac, the week of April 27 to May 3 ended in flat download growth and a 2% audience increase compared to the previous week. Across all Podtrac measured podcasts since the first week of January, weekly downloads are up 25% while weekly audience is up 8% through the week ending May 3. Overall, Podtrac reports that podcasting growth in downloads and audiences remains positive year to date. 

The ad-supported podcast industry has taken note that, as the pandemic continues, more companies will preventively cut large expenses including advertising budgets. Spotify cautiously lowered revenue guidance for the second quarter, even though the first quarter of 2020 was its largest-ever period for organic podcast creation. In March, the streaming service also reached almost 150,000 podcast uploads (69% higher than February), the largest monthly increase in its podcast catalog. 

Last year eMarketer reported that podcast advertising revenues were expected to surpass $1 billion by 2021. While the pandemic has caused direct response advertisers to cut ad spend, Digiday reports that brand advertising remains strong for podcasting given the ability for brands to quickly pivot messaging for the medium. 

Even established artists like rapper Tip “T.I.” Harris’ are recording podcasts to enhance their brands and connect directly with fans. Brendan Daly, chief communications officer for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), says that podcasts have become a significant topic of conversation among RIAA members.

“Podcasts are a growing area of audio listening, and our members are experimenting with it in different ways,” Daly says. “Some are using their resources to help artists connect with fans that way, others are taking a broader approach.”

Mody says that while some podcasters may have paused production for the time being, more creators than ever are producing at home and investing in discovery to promote their shows on social media. Headliner has doubled its number of new sign ups, or creators using the service, on a daily basis since mid-March. 

“At Headliner, we see really engaging information around podcasters branching out with their content now, trying to figure out how to market their shows since social and messaging are at an all-time high,” says Mody, explaining that Spotify’s strong overall numbers and deep investment in podcasts exemplifies the company’s belief that spoken word audio has become a significant part of streaming as a whole. “Podcasting is here to stay.”